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This chapter tries to determine the possible reasons for diversity and apparent convergence with regards to the development of workfare programmes within the countries considered here. The chapter starts by questioning if the introduction of workfare does herald a convergence of policies for uninsured out-of-work people in the seven countries. It then talks about the four possible explanations of diversity among the programmes, and presents and evaluates the evidence for four hypotheses. The chapter ends by questioning the extent to which workfare policies are being used as part of a strategy to improve welfare services and increase labour market integration, or as a means to reduce individual autonomy for participants.

This chapter provides a working definition of workfare, which is used in this book. The discussion identifies key elements of workfare programmes, and outlines the policy context for workfare policies in a discussion of a move from ‘passive’ to ‘active’ labour market policies. An ideological context is presented in the discussion of two competing concepts — ‘dependency’ and ‘social exclusion’ — in relation to worklessness. The chapter then presents the structural context for workfare, as well as giving a presentation of key economic indicators in the seven countries and a description of differences in welfare state and social assistance regimes.

This chapter uses data from two ongoing studies in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, to provide empirical evidence supporting the claim that workfare and child welfare programs serve increasingly similar populations with similar needs. It begins with a history of the separation of income maintenance from social services, then briefly describes the current situation. It is shown that workfare and child welfare programs serve increasingly similar populations with similar needs. However, despite the similar needs of these populations, indeed, even a large overlap between the populations, these two systems continue to operate largely independently, if not at cross-purposes. These findings call into question both the structure of service systems in jurisdictions like Milwaukee and the federal welfare and child welfare policies that lead state and local policy makers to create such misaligned systems.

This chapter starts with a discussion of the factors leading to welfare reform in the US, including the moral and economic crises perceived by both liberal and conservative lawmakers. The next sections include information on the outcomes of welfare reform in the US. Attention is given to information on the overall effects of welfare reform on recipients, the effects of time limits and sanctions, and how agencies have adapted to administer workfare programmes. The effects of privatisation on the provision of services to clients are also discussed. The chapter traces the development of active labour policies in Western Europe. The last section of the chapter describes the Western European experience, including the administration of workfare programmes and effects on clients. It is shown that programmes in the US and Western Europe suffer from many of the same administrative problems.

This chapter studies the employment policies for persons with disabilities in Peru and their results in terms of improving labor market conditions. It discusses the most important policy instruments employed by the Peruvian state to reach that goal and analyzes their effectiveness. These policy instruments include employment services, training and other labor programs, financial supports, quota systems, and antidiscrimination measures. Although lack of information is a pervasive problem, there are some areas of progress, but even more areas in which adjustments are needed. The chapter describes two policies that seem to be relatively effective in terms of improving labor market conditions for persons with disabilities: participation in general workfare programs such as Construyendo Perú and the preferential treatment of promotional enterprises that provide good and services to the state. Although Peru is the focus of this chapter, its lessons may be useful for understanding the case of societies with similar levels of economic and political development in Latin America.